Trap Shooting Tips – Key points to improving your trap shooting

So you want to improve your trap shooting and would like some tips. That’s great! Before we get down to improving your trap shooting, are you sure you are shooting trap?

Let’s Talk Trap Shooting

Trap shooting is one part of the
three-discipline sport of clay pigeon shooting; the other two disciplines are Skeet and Sporting
clays. Though different in execution, all of these disciplines revolve around
knocking 4 ½” clay
discs out of the sky with a shotgun.

Trap shooting specifically is the discipline
where the clay pigeons are ‘thrown’ from a ‘house’ that is roughly in front of
the shooter. Once thrown, the clay travels away from the shooter in nearly a
straight line (though this line will vary slightly clay to clay).

The trap shooter will shoot from one of five different
‘posts’ that are arranged in a semi-circle around the ‘house’. After shooting five rounds, the
shooter will move one position to their right.

Because trap shooting is a sport, you will
probably be shooting with other people (referred to as a ‘squad’). Each shooter on
the squad will take turns shooting and these other shooters will occupy the
other posts.

Now, let’s get down to improving your trap
shooting.

Trap Shooting Tips for Beginners

If you’re just starting out with trap
shooting, that’s fantastic! In the three disciplines of clay pigeon shooting,
trap shooting is generally the easiest for new shooters. This is mostly because
the pigeons travel in a
predictable fashion: directly away from the shooter. This means shooters
have slightly more time to line up their shots and get ‘dead’ birds.

The biggest tip for new trap shooters is to
select the proper shotgun and ammo.

Effective trap shooting can be accomplished
with nearly any shotgun gauge. That said, the larger the bore, the more forgiving
the shotgun will be to poor
aiming technique. To keep it simple, a 12-gauge shotgun will have more
appropriately sized pellets in each shell than a 20 gauge.

Can you effectively shoot trap with a 20
gauge? Absolutely. However, as a new shooter, it may help to throw as many
pellets downrange as
possible. Keep in mind that if you have difficulty controlling the recoil of a
12 gauge, the 20 gauge is absolutely acceptable and will get the job done.

Trap Shooting Tips

Mounting Your Gun

Despite the title, this doesn’t mean hanging
your shotgun up on the wall. ‘Mounting’ a shotgun is simply the term used for
putting the shotgun in the shoulder when preparing to fire. While that seems
amiss in a guide on trap shooting tips,
there is definitely a point here.

Mounting the shotgun is possibly the most
important aspect of clay pigeon shooting. At this point, the pigeon is in the
air and you need to get on target as fast as possible. A proper mount will
place the shotgun in the pocket of the shoulder in a way where the shooter’s
cheek meets the stock of the gun as the gun comes up to a good firing position.

There is an important distinction here: a
proper mount should make contact with the cheek first before pocketing into the shoulder. Shotguns in general need
to shoot where the shooter is looking, and that can only be achieved if the
comb of the shotgun is directly under the little ledge of your cheekbone.

This is even more important in the realm of
clay pigeon shooting because the shooter needs to react quickly to the thrown clay, get on target and fire. The shotgun
will shoot where the shooter is looking, and the shooter will be looking at the
clay pigeon.

Trap Shooting Stance

The proper stance for trap shooting is the
same stance for shotguns in general. By its nature, a shotgun will produce a
sizeable recoil. That recoil needs to be managed and controlled if the shooter
has any hope of hitting consistently (and not dropping their shotgun).

To manage the recoil, a shooter should be
square to the house, feet shoulder width apart. The strong-side foot should be
approximately a half step back and the shooter should be leaning slightly forward. putting a majority of
their weight on their forward foot.

When mounting the shotgun, the shooter should
lean into the gun slightly. This will allow the shooter to absorb the recoil
without being pushed backwards.

Trap Shooting Aiming Tips

You could say this would be the meat and
potatoes of trap shooting, but it’s not all there is to it. A shooter can only
get to the point where they need to improve their aim after they have mastered the mount. Inconsistent mounting will
disrupt aiming; so a shooter can only perfect their aim if it’s built on the
foundation of a solid mount.

More importantly, you don’t even aim a shotgun. You point it.

Most shotguns are equipped with a rail and bead on the end of the barrel.
Very few shotguns are equipped with a traditional rear sight aperture (the ones
that do have a rear sight are generally designed for tactical shooting, not
trap shooting).

So when should the shooter be engaging the
pigeon? As soon as you spot it.

When the bird is thrown, it is moving forward
at the fastest speed while spinning at the fastest rate. This makes the bird
travel in a straight fashion
with minimal drop. As
the bird gets further from the house, it slows down and spins slower. Both
factors cause the bird to begin dropping from the sky. The slower the bird is,
the faster it falls. A falling bird requires a shooter to lead the bird for
both forward distance and rate of
fall.

Also, the further out from the house the bird
gets, the more your shot will spread out. While that may prove to be an
advantage initially, there comes a point where that spread has diminished
returns. Instead of trying to guess when that point may be, engage the pigeon
as soon as you see it.

Now, once you spot the bird and mount the gun,
avoid the mistake of trying to shoot while moving the gun. That will guarantee
a miss as the bird will move out of the path of the shot before the shot
arrives at the bird. To successfully hit the bird, you, as the shooter, need to
decide which of the following methods to employ.

Tracking the Bird

When a shooter ‘tracks’ the bird, they are following the bird’s
flight with their shotgun. There is one key point, however, which means the
difference between a miss and a busted clay.

Instead of tracking the bird and shooting at it, the shooter needs to track
slightly faster than the bird and
track through it. As the shotgun
tracks through the bird, the shooter will pull the trigger at the birds leading edge or just slightly in front of it.

Now, instead of the bird flying out of the
path of incoming shot, the bird will fly directly into the path of the incoming
shot. Both arrive at the same point at the same time. Busted clay.

Ambush

In order to ambush a clay, the shooter needs to quickly judge the bird’s
flight path. After determining where the bird will fly, the shooter points
their shotgun at a point in the path where the bird will cross. As the bird’s
leading edge arrives at this point, the shooter fires. Shot and bird arrive at
the same point at the same time. Busted Clay.

The ambush method is more difficult for new
shooters, as you need experience watching clay birds fly in order to guess
where the bird will pass.

Remember, engage the bird as early as
possible, regardless of the chosen method.

Trap Shooting Tips and Tricks

OK, let’s hit on some tips and tricks quickly.

Point the Finger

While learning how to point your shotgun at
clay pigeons, it may help to extend the pointer finger of your forward hand.
Lay this finger along the barrel of your shotgun and mentally imagine pointing
this finger at the clay bird.

Key point: if you choose to do this, do not
actually use the finger as your aiming method. The pointer finger is not
actually in line with the bore of your shotgun. In effect, the finger is beside the bore of the barrel which
would mean a wide right or wide left miss in practicality. We use this as a
mental exercise to get used to pointing the shotgun, not aiming.

Don’t Use the Sights

Seems crazy right? It’s not. Remember, we do
not aim shotguns. Attempting to focus on the front sight bead will mean taking
your focus off the bird. The bird is constantly moving forward and dropping, so
taking focus off the bird for a fraction of a second will mean it’s not where
you expect it to be.

Point the shotgun and keep your focus on the
bird.

Get Out There and Practice

Trap shooting is both fun and challenging. The
best trap shooters spend many hours on the field practicing their trap
shooting. Also, the more time you spend watching flying clay birds, the better
you will be at judging the birds flight path and employing the ambush
technique.

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June 22, 2019

Written by –

james warnet

James developed his passion for firearms and marksmanship while serving in the US Marine Corps Infantry. During his enlistment, he achieved Rifle Expert (3rd award) and Pistol Expert (2nd award), along with multiple other small arms Expert ratings. Following his enlistment, he entered the Law Enforcement profession, where he has received three "Top Gun" awards for marksmanship excellence. Sharing the fundamentals of marksmanship is a continuing passion for James, and he trains new shooters regularly.